Initially the Sena railway had the function of connecting the Protectorate of Nyasaland from north to south, using waterways to reach seaports. Thus, in 1901, the Shire Highlands Railway Company was formed in Blantyre by British investors. He soon obtained a concession to build a railway connecting Nsanje, on the Shire River, to Mangochi, at the southern end of Lake Malawi, via Chiromo and Blantyre. The first section of this line, between Nsanje and Chiromo, was opened to traffic on 1 September 1904. The contract for the construction of a branch was awarded to the British South Africa Company, connecting Chindio and Nsanje, the latter becoming a important waterway connection port with the maritime city ofBeira. The irregular river flow in the region — sometimes with large and destructive floods, sometimes with severe droughts — made safe navigation almost impossible, causing this option to be discarded and the continuation of a railway line to Quelimane to be abandoned.. Club of Mozambique. 26 de maio de 2017. The effective planning of what is currently the Sena railway would only begin in 1912, when a common understanding was signed between Nyasaland and the Portuguese administration in Mozambique, for the construction of a railway line that would connect Beira to the African Great Lakes. Between 1919 and 1922, Trans-Zambezia Railways, company winner of the tender for the construction of the southern section, concluded the connection between Dondo and Vila de Sena, in front of the city of Nhamayabué, on the Zambezi River. The rest of the railway on the Mozambican side, between Nhamayabué and Nova Fronteira, was slowly completed until 1930. In 1930, therefore, the railway already connected Beira, Nhamayabué, Nova Fronteira, Nsanje, Chiromo and Blantyre, mainly transporting cotton from southern Malawi and from the Sena-Nhamayabué region, in addition to the sugar production by the company Sena Sugar Estates. The construction of the stretch in the territory of Malawi, between Blantyre and Salima, was completed in 1935, reaching the important port of Chipoka, one of the largest on Lake Malawi; an extension from Salima to the west to Lilongwe and Mchinji was completed in 1979. The subsequent discovery of mining areas in northeastern Zambia caused the railway to be extended from Mchinji to the locality of Chipata.. Jicareport. 2003. The works for this extension were completed in 2019, with Chinese funding.. Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation. 9 de janeiro de 2019.
The Sena railway was the main bulk transport link to Malawi until 1979, when it was destroyed by RENAMO forces in the Mozambican Civil War. As the Sena railway was interconnected with the Nacala railway, at the station in the Malawian city of Nkaya, since 1970, Malawi had its second rail connection with the port of Nacala, in Mozambique. In 1984, the Nacala railway link was also lost, when the Nacala railway was destroyed by RENAMO forces.
Railway branches
In 1949, the Dona Ana-Moatize branch line, 254 km long, was definitively opened, connecting the very rich areas of the Benga-Moatize coal belt. It also has the Inhamitanga-Marromeu branch, which is 88 km long.
